Diversify Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 3158 To remove college cost as a barrier to every student having access to a well-prepared and diverse educator workforce, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 8, 2020 Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. BROWN, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Ms. HARRIS, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. MERKLEY, and Ms. WARREN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To remove college cost as a barrier to every student having access to a well-prepared and diverse educator workforce, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Diversifying by Invest- 4 ing in Educators and Students to Improve Outcomes For 5 Youth Act’’ or the ‘‘Diversify Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 7 Congress finds the following: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3158.IS S3158 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 3158 IS (1) Schools predominantly enrolling historically 1 underserved students are often disproportionately 2 impacted by teacher shortages. 3 (2) Data shows that between 2009 and 2014, 4 teacher education enrollments dropped from 691,000 5 to 451,000, a 35-percent reduction. This amounts to 6 a decrease of almost 240,000 professionals on their 7 way to becoming teachers in the year 2014, as com- 8 pared to 2009. 9 (3) Research suggests that service scholarship 10 programs like the TEACH Grant Program are suc- 11 cessful when they are both administratively manage- 12 able and when subsidies are large enough to sub- 13 stantially offset training costs. Efforts to increase 14 the TEACH Grant award amount must be combined 15 with efforts to ensure that the program is adminis- 16 tratively manageable. In order for the TEACH 17 Grant Program to meet its full potential, the re- 18 search is clear that both criteria need to be ad- 19 dressed. 20 (4) The TEACH Grant’s award amount has not 21 increased since its creation in the bipartisan College 22 Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (Public Law 23 110–84). In addition, due to the Budget Control Act 24 of 2011 (Public Law 112–25), the maximum 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3158.IS S3158 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 3158 IS amount of grant aid available under the TEACH 1 Grant Program of $4,000 a year has been cut for 2 a majority of the program’s existence. This comes at 3 a time when the yearly full cost of a public 4-year 4 college for an in-State student exceeds $20,000. 5 Further, more than two-thirds of individuals enter- 6 ing the field of education borrow money to pay for 7 their higher education, resulting in an average debt 8 of about $20,000 for those with a bachelor’s degree 9 and $50,000 for those with a master’s degree. 10 (5) Grant programs can eliminate or reduce the 11 need to borrow student loans in order to afford a 12 college education. This is important because a col- 13 lege student’s potential debt burden influences the 14 student’s decisions about what profession to enter, 15 with the result that the student is less likely to pur- 16 sue a career in education or take other low-paying 17 jobs after graduation if the student expects to incur 18 more debt. This is especially true for students of 19 color, who, according to a recent report, are more 20 likely to come from families that are unable to con- 21 tribute financially to their higher education. 22 (6) Students with disabilities, including stu- 23 dents of color with disabilities, are also likely to ac- 24 crue significant student loan debt. This often results 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3158.IS S3158 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 3158 IS from limited ability to work while in school due to 1 the increased time needed for coursework. 2 (7) Teachers of color face unique barriers to en- 3 tering and staying in the profession. For example, 4 teachers of color are more likely to enter teaching 5 through alternative pathways due to the high cost of 6 traditional teacher preparation programs and the 7 debt burden faced by college students of color. 8 Lower quality pathways can result in less effective 9 teaching and high turnover rates. Research shows 10 that candidates who receive comprehensive prepara- 11 tion are 2 to 3 times more likely to stay in teaching 12 than those who receive little training. In many cases, 13 however, teachers of color are more likely to begin 14 teaching without having completed comprehensive 15 preparation and entering instead through alternative 16 routes that often skip student teaching and key 17 coursework, leaving teachers to learn on the job. 18 (8) Research shows that recruiting and retain- 19 ing a diverse teacher workforce is key to improving 20 outcomes for all students and for closing achieve- 21 ment gaps. While White students also benefit by 22 learning from teachers of color, the impact is espe- 23 cially significant for students of color, who have 24 higher test scores, are more likely to graduate high 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3158.IS S3158 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 3158 IS school, and more likely to succeed in college when 1 they have had teachers of color who serve as role 2 models and support their attachment to school and 3 learning. 4 SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 5 1965. 6 Section 420M of the Higher Education Act of 1965 7 (20 U.S.C. 1070g–1) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a)(1), by striking ‘‘$4,000’’ 9 and inserting ‘‘$8,000’’; and 10 (2) in subsection (d)— 11 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking 12 ‘‘$16,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$32,000’’; and 13 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘$8,000’’ 14 and inserting ‘‘$16,000’’. 15 SEC. 4. AMENDMENT TO THE BALANCED BUDGET AND DEF- 16 ICIT CONTROL ACT. 17 Section 255(h) of the Balanced Budget and Emer- 18 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(h)) is 19 amended by inserting after the item relating to ‘‘Supple- 20 mental Security Income Program (28–0406–0–1–609).’’ 21 the following new item: 22 ‘‘TEACH Grants under subpart 9 of part A of 23 title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965.’’. 24 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:58 Jan 09, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S3158.IS S3158 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS